Thread by @iowahawkblog

I just spent 3 weeks traveling through 25 states including rural and urban South, Appalachia, DC, Brooklyn, Rust Belt, Detroit, Chicago, the rural Midwest, and the Ozarks. My impression: everybody seemed cool, although I don't think any were concerned with my opinion of them

I have lived in a very rural farm community, large cities, mid sized college towns, and suburbs. Depending on what you consider important, any could be considered a little slice of heaven.

I left my little farming home town because my interest and priorities took me elsewhere, not out of some overwhelming desire to ESCAPE THE HORRIBLE CLOSED-MINDED RURAL HELLHOLE. I love and remain close to the friends I grew up with, and who decided to stay there.

"OMG I can't imagine living in one of those horrible little redneck towns" - good for you.
"OMG I can't imagine living in a squalid urban hipster wasteland" - good for you.
Nobody's asking you to imagine anything.

Austin often shows up as "Best Place To Live" by magazines and websites and whatever. Probably true for me, but ecumenical blanket rankings of "Best Places" are idiotic.

I live where I live because it's the best trade off between my wants and what I can afford. If I had a billion dollars I'd have a 20 acre compound in Beverly Hills; if I had a trillion, I'd have a supervillain volcano lair in the Caribbean